Animals in South Africa

I know...it may seem a bit weird that I blog about the animals when there are at least thousands of other topics I could have chosen. My ridiculous obsession with the South African animals probably has to do with the fact that I come from Hungary where the only wide animals you can find are deer and boars. Plus you can at least get an idea what you will or can visit in the country. So here it goes:

Table Mountain

This is a dassie, which we see a lot on Table Mountains (by the way its closest relative is the elephant, which is kind of surprising). We did the Table Mountain on our first weekend, and although it is not in the program you can do it any time the weather allows you. You can either hike or - if you are a lazy one like me - take the elevator.

Cape Point

The Cape Point is part of the program and it is simply amazing. It is the most southeast point of the continent and you will have the opportunity to hike a little bit. Later we went to Simons Town to see the penguins, which was a really awesome experience.

The Seal Island

It is also part of the program. The island is situated near the Hout Bay, and we took a boat from there.

The Game Park

The game park is part of the program as well, and we went there on the last weekend of the seminars. It is approximately 3,5 hour drive from Cape Town and it was absolutely worth the trip. It is basically a hotel that consists of huts and a restaurant with the most amazing view I have ever seen. We drove out twice to see the animals and the second one was quite an experience since we get "uncomfortably" close (like 2 meters) to the lions.

The Monkey Town

This and the whale watch below were not part of the program, but one of the weekends three of us rented a car and drove around Cape Town a bit. The Monkey Town is approximately half hour drive from the city. Although the monkeys are in a cage (considering some of the angry ones it was not that bad after all) it was a lot of fun, and if you are lucky, you can also watch the feeding.

The Whale Watch

Every year from July to October, the whales gather at the bays near to Cape Town, which is one of the biggest tourist attractions of the area. One of their favorite destinations is Hermanus, a pretty little town about 1 and 1/2 hour drive from Cape Town. Since we went there at the end of June only 10% of the whales were there, and thus we had to take a boat to be able to see them. The boat trip was not particularly cheap, about R500, but it was a really interesting experience.